Incorporating new thinking into brand communication

Spammed-A-Lot: Imagining a Life Without Akismet

When I first started blogging a year ago, I noticed this little switch on WordPress that activated something called Akismet. Apparently, this product shielded my comments section from Spam, and so I clicked it.

Those Akismet people make a seriously great product: to date I’ve been shielded from upwards of twelve hundred comments, most of which look like the graphic at left. Seriously, that’s what spammers typically post to my comments section. Over and over again.

Now I’m not gonna pretend the promise of greater virility (and more satisfaction for her!) has no audience, particularly among middle aged men like myself…but why do they then make the leap to also assume I’m fat (Hoodia), depressed (Effexor, Lexapro, Paxil), hearburn-y (Nexium, Prilosec), and swimming in cholesterol (Lipitor)? Seriously, this is how you think it’s best to introduce and promote yourself? Sending me a slew of value judgments presented in a barrage of repetitious garbage? And they you do it over and over with link after link in spam after spam? This is the marketing equivalent of a busload of campers singing “100 Bottle of Beer on the Wall” but starting at say, 237,999. That’s not marketing, it’s bombardment.

Please, for the love of all that is good and holy and beautiful in this world, never, ever, ever click on this kind of garbage. Who we choose to reward with our discretionary spending reflects our values.